The Laughing Swordsman

Maya's father cursed under his breath.

"Everyone run!"

Maya's father immediately began running in the opposite direction. On the way, he picked up Maya.

"Be worth something for once in your life and buy some time for us!"

Maya tried to resist her father.

"Dad? Don't do this!"

Maya's father paid no heed to her cries and tossed her towards the demons.

Maya hit the ground. Her clothes got dirty and snow scattered into the air.

Maya laid on the ground with dried tears on her face and eyes wide open. Her mouth was agape from the pure shock she was in.

A middle-aged lady hesitated, looking back to her home.

"But... our food! How can we survive without it?"

Maya's father frowned but continued running.

"You get it then!"

The middle-aged lady seemed to be at a loss while the other villagers scampered away.

Apollo slowly walked towards Maya and fell down on one knee in front of her. His eyes locked with hers.

Maya smiled bitterly.

"Why aren't you running?"

Apollo shrugged his shoulders.

"How about you? Why aren't you running?"

Maya swallowed.

"What good would that do? They don't want me anyway and I can't do anything on my own."

Apollo's eyes narrowed.

"...Bullshit."

Mary furrowed her brows.

"What?"

Apollo smiled and his eyes widened.

"I'm telling you that's bullshit."

Apollo slowly stood up and looked at the two-horned demons.

There were initially three of them, but one ran off into the forest. The other two rested their sabers on their shoulders and walked towards Apollo.

Apollo also walked towards them.

He began to cackle.

"You saved me, didn't you?"

Apollo's hands wrapped against the hilt of his bokken.

"Now watch. If it wasn't for you this never would have happened!"

Maya turned her head over to see Apollo's back, standing tall and filled with confidence.

Logically, she didn't think it was possible that Apollo with his frail figure and a wooden sword could do anything. Yet, her heart had a strange feeling that a miracle could occur.

She remembered how she first encountered Apollo. He was lying in the snow, covered in knives.

She saw a demon corpse and was scared, but rushed over to help him anyway. That's when she saw something horrifying through the trees.

Bodies... so many demon bodies were stacked upon each other. Their blood made a river, a testament to the massacre that occurred.

As for who was responsible, it was a question that Maya could not get off her mind.

Maya gasped.

Was it... him?

The two demons swung their sabers towards Apollo, taking full advantage of their extra reach.

Apollo sucked in a deep breath and whipped out his bokken.

Their sabers directly split in half, leaving them to wave around a stub.

While the demons were still in shock, Apollo dashed forward.

Apollo laughed and slashed at one of the demon's chests.

"So be proud of yourself, Maya!"

The demon was thrown backward and a large gash appeared on its chest. However, it was tenacious, getting up soon after.

The demon next to Apollo raised its foot. Its foot was emitting a bright white light and abruptly slammed into the floor.

Ice immediately began to freeze over the ground around them and walls made of ice burst out of the ground. It quickly encapsulated the two demons along with Apollo and Maya.

Although the sabers were cut in half, since they were originally quite long, there was still some length to work with.

While the demon that was knocked away got up, the demon next to Apollo charged at him with its saber.

Apollo's bokken flashed and the demon's hand had fallen off, taking the saber with it.

Apollo giggled, wanting to see what the demon's next move would be.

Then, Apollo's smile suddenly disappeared.

The demon changed targets, grabbing out with its remaining hand towards Maya.

Apollo's bokken twitched.

The demon's arm fell off. It proceeded to stumble backward in fear.

Apollo's neck twisted as he laughed.

Before the demon made it more than a few steps back, Apollo's bokken shot out towards its chest.

There was a bang and a shattering sound. The two-horned demon's chest had completely caved in and it fell lifelessly to the floor.

The other demon was charging over but stopped in its tracks after seeing Apollo kill its brethren.

Apollo laughed at the demon's pathetic state.

As Apollo slowly walked forward, the demon would take a step backward.

Apollo smiled gleefully, waiting to see the demon's next move.

Soon, the demon hit his back against the ice wall. After a moment of hesitation, it raised its foot which glowed with a bright white light.

Apollo raised an eyebrow while smiling.

Once the demon slammed its foot against the ground, three icicles abruptly launched out of the walls and shot towards Apollo.

Purely based on instinct, Apollo's bokken twitched. As the red tassel on Apollo's bokken stopped jiggling, three icicles clattered and rolled on the ground.

Apollo dashed forward.

The demon tried to hold its saber up, but suddenly let it go.

Its head flew off and its body collapsed to the floor.

Apollo turned his head around and flashed a smile at Maya.

Maya's mouth was agape. She kept blinking as though by doing so, she could dispel the illusion.

But it was no illusion.

"Ahh! No!"

Screams came from behind Maya, she turned around but there was an ice wall blocking her view.

Apollo giggled. He did not know what was going on but derived joy from their misery anyway.

Maya's breathing was uneven.

"Apollo! They need help!"

Apollo's smile disappeared.

"What?"

Tears fell from Maya's face.

"Please! You have to save them!"

Since Maya was still on the ground, Apollo crouched down to get closer.

"Why should they be saved?"

Maya clenched her fists.

"I know they hurt you... but they are still people! Nobody deserves to die!"

Apollo's eyelid twitched.

"You seriously want to save them? When they just left you behind?"

Maya nodded slowly.

Apollo closed his eyes.

Was it worth it to save them?